Demolishing a 5,000 sq ft Home and Building a Smaller Home

We live on a gorgeous piece of waterfront property, but built a home that is too large for us. How much would it cost us to demolish what we have and build a smaller home. Does it make sense to do it?

Trish M. ~ Boston, Massachusetts

Trish, you must live on a very special piece of property(or in a completely unmanageable house), if you are considering tearing down a newer house simply because it is too large. While it would be impossible for me to estimate the demolition cost for this endeavor, if you are even considering it, then you can probably afford to do it! Seriously though, these days many homeowners are in your same situation, wanting a smaller home that is both cheaper and easier to maintain. Of course, you always have the option of starting over, but here are some other ideas:

Trade houses - Perhaps there are some neighbors close by who have a parcel of property similar to yours, but would like to upgrade to a larger house? This could be a win-win situation that might save both parties involved a lot of money and headaches!

Move the house - Although it is not always feasible, there are house moving companies that specialize in relocating large houses from one property to another location. This type of move is not always easy or cheap, but at least your house would not wind up in the landfill.

Split your property - If your property is able to be subdivided, then perhaps you could sell off the existing house and some of the property, and keep a portion of the land on which to build a new, smaller home.

Sell your house - Although most real estate markets are slow right now, waterfront properties always seem to attract potential buyers. If you could sell your existing home, then you could look for a new parcel of property nearby on which to build the new house.

Whatever decision you make, it seems as though you are ready for a change, but weigh your options carefully and explore every opportunity before you call in the recking-ball! As I said before, you can always scrape the building site clean and build a new home, but the cost to do so would be considerable. Good luck!